What do you think about when you can’t seem to fall asleep? My mind often begins racing just as my body is desperately ready for rest.

When I was younger, my dad often read me Dr. Seuss’ The Glunk that got Thunk. In this story, a young girl enjoys spending her evenings thinking. But when her Thinker-Upper gets out of hand, she thinks up a crazy creature called a Glunk.

When my mind would spin at night (which led to endless repetitions of “Wait, Dad! One more question. . . “), my dad would tell me to “turn off my Thinker-Upper.” I still have to remind my Thinker-Upper to shut itself down most nights.

A few weeks ago, as I tried vainly to turn off my brain, my Thinker-Upper decided to write a response to the classic tongue twister “Peter Piper.” You are probably familiar with the original ditty:

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
(Or How many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?)

Here is Peter’s response, courtesy of my Thinker-Upper:

“You can’t pick pickled peppers,” Peter Piper piped.
For a pepper’s not been pickled
‘Till the pickler packs it tight!